Naruto Immersive Replay, The Curse of the Sharingan

Finally, as the setting sun dyed the desert blood red, the outline of a small village appeared in the distance, with wisps of smoke rising and bringing the scent of human life.

You breathed a sigh of relief and quickened your pace.

The moment you stepped into the edge of the village, the seriously wounded man on your back suddenly let out a joyful cheer and jumped off your back with such light and agile movements that he showed no signs of injury whatsoever!

“You—” You immediately felt a surge of anger.

Deidara didn't give you a chance to retaliate. He stood in front of you with shining eyes and a radiant smile of triumph on his face. He pulled out a crumpled piece of paper covered in writing from somewhere and unfolded it in front of you.

“Since we’re lovers, we should do what lovers do! Hmm!” he announced, his tone as solemn as if he were reciting some important declaration. “This is a list I’ve carefully prepared! Hmm!”

You glanced at the paper almost instinctively.

The list was densely packed with items, meticulously organized, ranging from watching the sunrise together to kissing under the stars—more than a hundred in total!

Although the handwriting was a bit crooked, it was clear that it was written very carefully, and small explosion symbols were even drawn after a few lines to indicate their importance.

"You... what is this?" You were completely stunned. Your anger was extinguished by this unbelievable list, leaving only a huge sense of absurdity and a... indescribable shock.

Is this guy... serious? He'd actually go to this lengths for such an absurd one-day dating game?

All the excuses you had prepared to get rid of him seemed pale and powerless in the face of this overly comprehensive list.

"These are things I've always dreamed of achieving!" Deidara leaned closer, his blue eyes like the purest sky, filled with pure, unadulterated longing and expectation.

He hugs your arm and gently shakes it, starting to whine and plead, "You naughty girl~ just say yes~ just for one day! Okay! Just one day!"

The golden rays of the setting sun fell on his brilliant blond hair and his expectant face, making him look like a large golden retriever wagging its tail desperately, yearning for its owner's attention.

Looking at him like this, you feel a gentle tap on a corner of your heart, a tender and bittersweet emotion welling up inside you.

Even though reason tells me this is outrageous and dangerous, I just can't bring myself to say the words of refusal.

Chapter 210 Redemption in Tsukuyomi (8)

You sighed, as if resigned to your fate, and replied in a curt tone, "...Remember, you only have one day. The game will end when the sun rises tomorrow."

"Great! Yes!" Deidara instantly beamed with joy, his radiant smile almost blinding.

He suddenly leaned in and kissed you on the cheek with lightning speed, leaving a brief, gritty touch warm with the sun.

"I knew the wicked girl was the kindest! Hmm!"

The spot on my cheek where I had been kissed felt like it had been branded with a hot iron, and an abnormal temperature spread rapidly.

You were completely stunned, covering your cheek, your eyes wide open, and for a moment you forgot to react.

You...you actually got ambushed by this brat you only met once?!

The simmering anger finally reignited, and you abruptly raised your hand as if to strike, "First of all! You're not allowed to cause any more trouble! Otherwise, I'll—"

"Okay, okay! Mm!" Deidara nimbly dodged, his smile widening with even more smugness. He carefully put away the list, pointing to the first item. "Let's begin! First item: Share food and drinks! Mm!"

He didn't give you a chance to argue at all, and grabbed your wrist, running towards the only dilapidated house in the village that looked like a tavern.

Thus, in this desert village created by Tsukuyomi, an extremely bizarre scene unfolded.

The blond boy and a cool, dark-haired girl squeezed together at a greasy little table, sharing a bowl of what looked like a spicy desert stew and a glass of cloudy ale.

Deidara ate with great relish, constantly piling meat from his bowl onto your plate, his eyes sparkling as he awaited your feedback.

You, on the other hand, have no appetite. You chew mechanically while glaring murderously at the guy across from you who has unilaterally included you in his "lover" list, mentally planning a hundred ways to make him "accidentally" disappear.

"Secondly, buy the other person a gift! Hmm!" After finishing their meal, Deidara dragged you through the village's only small market.

He used money he somehow got his hands on to buy an outrageously ugly, brightly colored clay bird pendant, which he then forcefully shoved into your hand.

Then he picked up a kunai that looked fairly sharp from the stall and stared at you expectantly.

With a dark expression, you reluctantly paid the money under the dual gazes of the stall owner and Deidara.

Deidara immediately put the kunai away as if he had received a treasure, grinning from ear to ear.

"Thirdly, holding hands while taking a walk! Hmm!"

"Fourth, carry me on your back! Hmm! You carried me just now, now it's my turn to carry you?... Okay, let's skip this one! Hmm!"

"Article 5..."

One by one, the items on the list were crossed off; Deidara's energy was astonishing.

From initial extreme resistance and irritability, you eventually became almost numb, only able to be dragged along like a puppet to complete various childish and shameful tasks as a lover.

As night slowly falls, the temperature difference between day and night in the desert becomes extreme, and a chill begins to permeate the air.

A bonfire was lit in the open space in the center of the village, and some villagers gathered around it to drink and chat.

Deidara's eyes shone brightly in the firelight. He pointed to an item at the back of the list, his voice tinged with barely perceptible tension and anticipation, "Item ninety-eight, let's dance! Hmm!"

You stared at the words, then at your surroundings, a vein throbbing on your forehead. "...There's no dancing here."

"What does it matter! Hmm!" Deidara didn't care. He grabbed your hand and led you to the open space by the campfire.

Without music, he would hum off-key tunes to himself, hold your hand, and clumsily but persistently lead you in spinning and stepping.

The firelight leaped, casting your shadows onto the sand, twisting and intertwining.

Deidara's smile, illuminated by the firelight, possessed an ethereal beauty. You watched him intently, as if he were creating the world's greatest art.

Seeing his cheeks flushed slightly with excitement, a tiny crack quietly appeared in the defenses of his usually cold and wary heart.

Perhaps... indulging in this inexplicable dream for just this one day wouldn't be so bad?

The thought had barely crossed my mind when you ruthlessly extinguished it. Danger! This is very dangerous!

However, Deidara had already reached the last few steps.

"Ninety-ninth, look at the stars! Hmm!" He pulled you to the sand dunes outside the village, and you lay down side by side.

The starry sky over the desert is exceptionally clear and dazzling, with the Milky Way stretching across the horizon like a luminous band of sand.

Deidara quieted down, simply gazing at the starry sky, then turned his head to look at your profile beside him, his expression so complex you couldn't decipher it.

“Article 100…” His voice suddenly became very soft, with an unprecedented seriousness. He slowly leaned closer to you, his warm breath brushing against your ear.

"...Kissing under the stars, hmm."

Your heart skips a beat, and you instinctively want to push him away.

But Deidara's movements were faster, and also... gentler.

He didn't force you; he simply cupped your face in his hands, his thumbs stroking your cheeks. His blue eyes reflected the entire starry sky, as well as your slightly panicked face.

"Just once... please? Hmm?" His voice was almost pleading, carrying a vulnerability that made your heart clench. "Just fulfill this last wish... and I'll have no regrets... hmm!"

As his face drew closer, you could clearly see his long, golden eyelashes trembling slightly.

Your body stiffens, your reason screams frantically to push him away, but your body is as if it has been frozen in place, unable to move.

Just a second before his lips were about to touch yours, "..."

Deidara suddenly stopped moving, and the deep sorrow and despair in his eyes jolted you awake.

This is not a teenager's ridiculous antics.

Deidara slowly closed his eyes, and a drop of cold liquid unexpectedly fell onto your cheek.

The starry sky in Tsukuyomi's world began to shatter.

Hidan's Tsukuyomi World -

It was the nauseatingly peaceful and tranquil scene of Yugakure Village, the steaming hot springs, the foolish and satisfied smiles on the villagers' faces, and the soft, mellow Kabukicho tunes floating in the air.

"Lord Evil God——!!!"

Hidan roared almost reflexively, his voice filled with the anxiety and dissatisfaction of being forcibly pulled away from his faith.

When he finally saw his surroundings clearly and realized that he had returned to this place that claimed to be peaceful but was actually cowardly, anger instantly overwhelmed his reason.

"Damn it! What kind of place is this?!" He swung his blood-red scythe furiously, the crimson blade whistling through the air as it slashed fiercely at several large, leafy trees beside him.

With a few sharp cracks, the trees crashed to the ground, startling a flock of birds and eliciting screams from villagers in the distance.

"A bunch of idiots who use peace as an excuse to avoid improving their strength! Morons! Trash!" He cursed at the empty woods, spitting as he spoke.

If it were before, Hidan, who had gained immortality and whose heart was filled with nothing but killing and sacrifice, would have already rushed into the village with his scythe, choosing a few lucky ones in the most cruel way, using their blood and screams to please his supreme evil god, and incidentally venting his restless rage.

The movement suddenly stopped.

The March sickle froze in mid-air.

A strange, unfamiliar force, like an invisible chain, quietly bound his bloodthirsty impulses.

Ever since I met the evil god, no, to be precise, ever since I became your dog... things have gone wrong.

The ferocious beast within him, which knew only destruction and sacrifice, seemed to have been put on reins.

Every day, what keeps swirling in my mind is no longer where to find living human sacrifices, but how to squeeze more money out of Kakuzu's money-grubbing vault to buy the latest evil god merchandise.

She was figuring out how to persuade Deidara, that explosion maniac, to go out and do some art together; she was thinking about how to avoid Madara Uchiha's terrifying gaze and sneak up to the Jashin-sama for a pat and a cuddle...

Everyone in Yugakure Village regarded him as an incomprehensible monster and heretic.

He always believed this and was proud of it, until he was kicked out of the village and joined the organization called Akatsuki...

Hidan, carrying his three-month scythe, tilted his head and thought for a moment. It seemed like there wasn't a single normal person in the organization. Compared to that, his hobby of worshipping an evil god and making sacrifices was perfectly normal!

"Tsk." Having figured this out, Hidan's mood inexplicably improved a little.

But he immediately became agitated again. Where was the evil god? Where was his beloved, great, one and only evil god, Tanuki?

This broken illusionary world, even the evil god couldn't be copied here?! Terrible! Absolutely terrible!

He wandered aimlessly around the outskirts of Yugakure, like a vicious dog whose bones had been stolen, finding fault with everything, kicking stones, chopping down trees, and constantly cursing the trashy illusions.

He tried to sense your presence; that scent, a mixture of faint blood and a certain cold sweetness, was his most devout belief, but to no avail.

"I might as well break this trashy illusion and go to the Valley of the End to find her myself!" Hidan completely lost his patience.

He suddenly stopped, raised the Bloodstained Three-Month Scythe high with both hands, his muscles tensed, his chakra surged wildly, and he slammed it down with all his might towards the seemingly empty void in front of him!

"Break it for me—!!!"

"Clang!!!"

A piercing metallic clang rang out, sparks flying from the point where the scythe struck, but the void only rippled slightly before quickly returning to its original state, so solid it was despair-inducing.

"Huh?" Hidan was stunned for a moment, then became even more furious. "I don't believe it! You can't even handle this stupid genjutsu?!"

He stopped wasting words and, like a tireless destructive machine, swung his scythe again and again, frantically slashing, thrusting, and sweeping across the void before him!

Clang! Clang! The ear-piercing sounds continued, and sparks flew everywhere. His tiger's mouth was cracked and bled from the recoil, but it healed quickly.

He wasn't just acting recklessly; with each attack, he was using his whole being to sense the fluctuations of the surrounding energy, searching for the weakest and most unstable point in this illusion.

The power of the evil god's curse surged within him, guided by an instinct that craved destruction and torn everything apart.

Yet the void remains stable.

Chapter 211 Redemption in Tsukuyomi (9)

Hidan stopped, panting heavily, a flicker of anxiety in his purplish-red pupils; his direct attack was ineffective...

He looked down at the dark red, evil god's curse marks on his chest and arms—marks that granted him immortality but also brought him endless pain and a bloodlust...

"Hidan." Your voice suddenly rang out clearly in my memory, not with your usual lazy and teasing tone, but with a rare, almost divine calmness. "Your evil god power, in a sense, is the most vicious curse in the world."

Hidan nodded subconsciously. Yes, this power did cause him pain, and it also caused him pain to others.

“But,” your voice continued, like a ray of light piercing the darkness, “it can also be a blessing for yourself, and for... us.”

A blessing? Hidan was completely bewildered. How could a power that brought pain and destruction be a blessing?

"Evil gods do not only represent eternal destruction and suffering." Your fingers once gently touched the curse mark on his heart, the touch was cold yet strangely soothing to his restless blood.

"Try to understand it, master it, use this power to protect your loved ones, and bravely face all the unknowns and difficulties. Hidan, this is the philosophy I really want to tell you... your own philosophy."

Protect...the one you love...

Facing the unknown...

Hidan's violent and anxious expression gradually subsided, and an unprecedented and strange realization welled up in his mind.

He has been blindly using this power to destroy, to take, and to vent.